Certain applications, such as strip mining, involve the transportation of aggregate material, such as ore, from a mining site to a processing or shipping facility. Typical mining operations use haul trucks that carry the extracted material to a central location. These haul trucks may perform hundreds of trips daily as some mining operations operate around the clock. The loading of the aggregate material onto the haul trucks is typically accomplished by use of wheeled loaders or excavators.
A typical loading operation includes filling a bucket of the loader machine with a load, and depositing the load from above into the dump body of the haul truck. As can be appreciated, considerable impact stresses may be imparted onto the haul truck depending on the loading height, density of the aggregate, and consistency of the aggregate. For example, a bucket load that contains boulders can induce stresses on the haul truck if dropped from a high distance over the dump body. Additionally, aggregate dropped suddenly may also cause unwanted stresses to the dump body and its mounting elements.
Such relatively high vibration and impact loading that can occur during loading of the haul truck can be detrimental to the longevity of truck components and, if excessive, can cause damage to the haul truck. Traditionally, a haul truck operator will perceive excessive load and vibration that may be caused during loading and notify the loader operator. However, depending on the training and experience of the haul truck operator, the operator's perception of the severity of the loading is a subjective measure that may insufficient to detect and correct loading practices that may damage the haul truck. Moreover, the contemplation of autonomous haul trucks lacking operators will remove the operator from the truck during loading and the determination of loading severity may be made by the operator of the loading machine, who is not very well positioned to determine the condition of the haul truck during loading.